On February 4th, 2022 at 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, thousands of viewers tuned onto Twitch to watch their favorite streamer start their subathon. A subathon, which is a combination of the words “subscriber” and “marathon,” is a livestream event during which a content creator sets a timer that counts down the time left before the stream ends, with viewers being able to pay for subscriptions that extend the timer. This concept was made largely popular by YouTuber and streamer Ludwig, and is intended to create a large influx of subscribers over a single long livestream. On a streaming platform as big as Twitch, which has on average about 2.7 million concurrent viewers and around 30 million daily active users, subathons are hardly rare. But the viewers that turned into this stream did not expect the records that would be broken during this subathon.

These viewers were watching nobody other than Ironmouse, a faceless streamer who represents herself with a virtual pink anime avatar, and who is only the most recent example of the rising success of a new subsection of content creators called “VTubers.”

This streamer, on just Day eleven of what would be a thirty-one day long subathon, became the most subbed to female streamer on Twitch, beating out kkatamina‘s record of 73,623 subs. With 171, 818 subs, by the end of the subathon, this streamer had the third most subscriptions on the website, only behind top streamers Ludwig “Ludwig” Ahgren at #1 (at 283,066 subs from his subathon on March 14, 2021) and Tyler“Ninja” Belvins at #2 (with 269,154 subs during the Fortnite boom in 2018).

The phrase “VTuber,” which is short for “Virtual YouTuber,” was coined by Kizuna AI, who is largely considered to be the first VTuber, starting in late 2016. Kizuna AI used the term “VTuber” to describe someone who uses a virtual avatar to create online content. These content creators use motion capturing software in order to translate their real life movements and facial expressions over to their virtual avatars, allowing their VTuber models to emote and move just like a real person.

However, while the definition for a VTuber can fit any content creator who uses a virtual model, if you start watching clips of VTubers from streams and videos, one thing becomes very apparent: they all use anime models for their avatars. This phenomenon is due mostly to VTubers originating largely from Japan, which is also the birthplace of anime. 

The very first VTuber actually existed before Kitzuna AI coined the word. She is the English speaking Japanese YouTuber Ami Yamato, who used a 3D animated avatar for her first blog in 2011. While the video itself was not very successful, only garnering 221,242 views at the time of writing this article, it is considered to be the start of the interest in virtual avatars, as many viewers wanted to know how Yamato made the model and what software she used.

Now fast forward a few years to  November 29th, 2016, as the VTuber Kizuna AI debuts on her YouTube channel. Kizuna AI is considered the pioneer of the VTuber field, and is the most successful VTuber of all time, with over 250 million views on her videos and 4.5 million subscribers across multiple channels. 

VTubing has largely had a Japanese fanbase, as a majority of VTubers themselves were Japanese and only spoke Japanese. However, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, VTubing exploded in popularity. In early September 2020, the VTuber entertainment production company Hololive Production released its first five English speaking VTubers to target specifically English speaking audiences in their sub-project HoloLive English. These VTubers were named Gwar Gura, Mori Calliope, Ninomae Ina’nis, Takanashi Kiara, and Watson Amelia. They largely did what other VTubers did before them, being virtual entertainers through playing games, voice acting, and entertaining their audience with their personalities and personas, although now appealing to an English speaking audience. It is due to these factors that the VTuber community has boomed. Gwar Gura overtook Kizuna AI’s title of most popular VTuber on June 30th, 2021 by surpassing 3 million subscribers on her main YouTube channel, and Ironmouse broke several records on Twitch with her subathon in February 2022.

With over 16,000 VTubers worldwide, VTubers are a booming trend in recent entertainment media, but it is important to point out that there are some negative stigmas against VTubers. This is due largely to their use of anime models which lead to a large number of people assuming that the VTubing audience is made up of only anime fans. However, while there is a negative stigma associated with VTubers due to this, it is important to remember that they are content creators who appeal to a large audience, not those who are a fan of the Japanese style of animation.

When asked why they watch VTubers, Bronx Science students responded with the same sentiment, that they watch VTubers for the same reasons that they watch any other content creator. “I watch them for fun, and they’re the same as other streamers, in my opinion”, said Fiona Zhou ’23. “Why not?” said Alex Neampong ’22. “While the models are usually the appeal, the people who play them are entertaining, and there tends to be an aura of mystery around them, because of their in-universe character creating a humorous conflict with the stories they share,” Neampong said.

This new style of content creation is not lost on viewers, as the models offer a unique experience. “I appreciate the entire concept of how they are able to create an avatar in order to express themselves freely and to be free of the judgment that some influencers experience based on their real looks. Where they could have been held back by insecurities about their appearances, they are able to let their personalities and voices shine through attractive characters that can even move realistically with exciting new face- and body-tracking technology,” said Elizabeth Colon ’23.

The rapidly growing industry and fanbase is something that has allowed thousands of people to create a new style of content in which they are not held back by their own appearances, and allowed millions of people to find joy in their content. Breaking records on streaming and video platforms like Twitch and YouTube, VTubers are a force to be reckoned with in the content creation industry. With various VTuber agencies such as hololive production, VShojo, and NIJISANJI, as well as various large independent VTubers, this style of content creation will most likely continue to rise. 

If after reading this article you are interested in exploring some VTubers yourself, here are some recommendations from the students here in Bronx Science: Ironmouse (YouTube and Twitch), Nyaners (YouTube and Twitch), Vox Akuma (YouTube and bilibili), Gwar Gura (YouTube), Pomu Rainpuff (YouTube and Twitch), Ninomae Ina’nis (YouTube), and Kson (YouTube, Twitch, and mildom)  as well some of the agencies that are listed above in the article.

“I appreciate the entire concept of how they are able to create an avatar in order to express themselves freely and to be free of the judgment that some influencers experience based on their real looks. Where they could have been held back by insecurities about their appearances, they are able to let their personalities and voices shine through attractive characters that can even move realistically with exciting new face- and body-tracking technology,” said Elizabeth Colon ’23.